BASEBALL ENJOYS OFF DAY AT WHISTLER BEFORE TOURNAMENT RESUMES TOMORROW, PLUS DAY SIX PLAYER BLOG

Sacramento State is back in action with the Semifinal Round of the Collegiate Baseball Classic tomorrow night, Saturday, August 17, at 6:30 p.m. when the Hornets take on the host team, the UBC Thunderbirds. Coming into today, the Hornets had played three games in three days, but this Friday was a scheduled day off for all four teams in the tournament and Sacramento State made the most of it. Join senior outfielder Matt Smith, who is behind today's player blog, as the team travels to Whistler before taking to the ice.

Friday, August 16

The off day is finally upon us here in BC! Although it was considered an off day, our day actually started earlier than what most of the team is used too. With cups of coffee in our hands, we boarded the bus at 8:45 a.m. and headed for Whistler, British Columbia. Whistler hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010 and was currently hosting a downhill slopestyle mountain biking tournament.

It was about a two-hour bus ride full of winding roads and steady elevation gain and beautiful views overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Upon our arrival, we all fanned out and started our journey explore the scenery, watching the downhill bikers, and finding something to eat since lunch wasn't for another hour. The location was crowded full of people riding their bikes around, family watching in the distance, and onlookers amazed at the rider's skills as they speed down the mountain with little or no regard for their bodies if they crashed.

After watching in amazement, we continued walking around and exploring the mountain when we stumbled upon a bunch of retailers that were offering free carnival like games to keep the onlookers occupied and bring prospective buyers closer. It was amazing to see how a game that requires you to hammer a nail into a tree stump in one swing could be so frustrating yet amusing at the same time. Frustratingly enough, none of us could successfully drive the nail all the way into the stump. While we were on the ground amusing ourselves with carnival games the other half of our group was taking the gondola up to the top of the mountain to overlook the entire resort. The view was insane, almost 6500 feet above sea level. You felt like you were on top of the world.

After we reached the bottom of the mountain it was time to head back to the dorms. Our bus ride was full of loud noises and bus shenanigans, like the party game mafia. After returning to the dorms we had about 45 minutes before the Canadian members of our team got to show us what they were really made of - we were going ice skating.

As the Canadian ���� hosts, we had to get the other teams on the ice for some ice hockey at @ubctbirdarena!

We walked into the arena and you could tell right away that the Canadians were back in their element and that everyone else had no idea what was about to happen. As soon as everyone stepped out on the ice you could tell that everything they had said was true, they could skate. Zipping up and down ice with sticks in hand they made it look easy. Shooting shots into the net from halfway across the ice, it was amazing to see. I am honestly awful at skating so I was watching from afar and started to think: "What would we look like if we were a hockey team."